GRAVITY LOOKS TO CARRY WEIGHT

We are in desperate need of a good science fiction film. The days of revolutionary films like “Alien”, “Blade Runner” and “2001: A Space Odyssey” are long since behind us, but there is hope.

Alfonso Cuaron, the visionary director of modern classics like “Children of Men” and “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”, is releasing what could very well be his greatest work of all time in “Gravity”.

Starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, the film is a space thriller set in Earth’s orbit. Bullock plays Dr. Ryan Stone, a medical engineer who is stepping into space for the first time.

With her is Clooney’s veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski, getting ready for his final space flight. When debris destroys their shuttle, Stone and Kowalski are cast adrift into space with limited oxygen, desperately trying to contact anyone who could help them get back to Earth.

The premise sounds a little too simple to hold any weight, but already “Gravity” is getting major pre-release buzz as an Oscar contender and one of the most visually striking films of the year.

Boasting a 97 percent on the critical aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, the film is being hailed as a modern masterpiece of filmmaking. Cuaron’s previous work already proved he had a talent for visuals, but the work he’s doing here is unprecedented.

From the trailers alone, Cuaron looks to capture both the beauty of space itself and the claustrophobic horror of being stranded in it. The film will be shown in 3D, but the added dimension looks to add to the visuals and story, rather than detract from it.

Bullock is expected to deliver a truly stellar performance, one that could potentially nab her a second Best Actress Oscar following “The Blind Side”.

“Gravity” launches Oct. 4 in theaters, so be sure to check out what all the hype is about. Hopefully this film is everything the trailers and critics said it would be, because sci-fi films nowadays often have no real ‘gravity’ of their own.